Aliens: Colonial Marines
by MadHatter'sCheshireCat
Summary: Kendall-Rae Ripley has been to hell and back. It's been about five months since her mother, Newt, Hicks, and Bishop were jettisoned down to Fiorina 'Fury' 161. She had been recruited by the United States Colonial Marine Corps to assist the Marines on the USS Sephora that seemed to have found the Sulaco. But, a few things have changed.


_**"Corporal Dwayne Hicks, TQ4.0.48215E9 Distress. My unit has suffered immense causalities on LV-426 and request immediate assistance aboard the USS Sulaco. Of the survivors, myself, Private First Class William Hudson, Private First Class Jenette Vasquez, Lieutenant William Gorman, four human females, one of which is a child, and a damaged synthetic. Consider all other Colonial Marines dispatched to LV-426 to be KIA. Repeat, all other Marines dispatched to LV-426 were KIA."**_

"Rise and shine, Marines. This isn't a drill, and you aren't in Kansas anymore."  
>Came Cruz's monotonous tone of voice as it echoed throughout the room, and the Marines were awoken from their slumber.<p>

"On your feet, Marines. For any new recruits, I'm Captain Cruz, and you are my crew on the USS Sephora. We responded to a distress call sent out seventeen weeks ago from the USS Sulaco. Rhino 2-3 went in firsy and encountered heavy resistance. You are the last of the battalion to get popped out of cryo—so I don't want to hear any bitchin' because we let you lugheads sleep in late. Get combat ready, and I'll see you in the hangar in twenty mikes.

Kendall groaned as she felt the cold air hit her face as the top of the hypersleep cyrotube was lifted. God. It had been a while since she had done this. The last time that she went into hypersleep was when Ripley, Masey, Hudson, Vasquez, Gorman, Newt, Hicks and herself escaped from LV-426 almost five months ago. God. It seemed like a lifetime ago. She swung her feet out of the cyrotube, and as soon as her feet hit the floor, the first thing that elicited from her mouth was what Hudson had said when he first awoke on the Sulaco.

"Man, this floor is freezing."  
>She commented, and she had watched as Winter, the Marine in the cyrotube beside her nodded in compliance with her comment, with a feeble smile.<p>

"Sounds like that's been practiced, Hendrix."  
>Came the Marines comment, and Kendall raised an eyebrow slightly, before she remembered that she had to go by an alias.<p>

Technically, her family, well, her mother, and herself were threats to Weyland-Yutani, so she had to use an alias in order to earn this place on the Sephora. She now went by Audrey Katherine Hendrix.

"It's been said before Winter."  
>Kendall's answer came, as she made her way over to her locker, and she found her usual garb, tank top, cargo jacket, cargo pants, and combat boots.<p>

She slipped the tank top over her head, before she slid her arms through the sleeves of the jacket. She pulled the rest of clothing on, before she pulled the two dogtags that she constantly wore to the front, and they rested on a sea of black. She had opened the severe bun, that her hair had been tied into, and feeling her hair be released, left some relief on her scalp. She gingerly brushed it through, before she left it out. She rubbed the back of her neck before she was stopped by Bishop. She knew that this was a different Bishop from the Sulaco. How many of these damn units they had was beyond her.

"Name and rank?"  
>Came Bishop's question, as he flashed a light into her eyes, obviously checking her eyes.<p>

"Lieutenant Audrey Hendrix, 118th Battalion aboard the USS Sephora."  
>Came her well-rehearsed answer.<p>

"Any health issues?"

"Case of asthma, but I'm fine."

Bishop seemed to eye her warily, before he moved onto Winter, and he asked the same questions.

She didn't bother to wait for anyone else, as she made her way down to the weapon lockers, and she pulled her chest armor, and the helmet over her head. Her M-41A pulse rifle, was slung across her shoulder, and she cradled it with her right arm. She felt like Dietrich or Vasquez right now, and what they must have gone through as Marines.

"Lieutenant Hendrix. Corporal Winter. I'm sending in Rhino 2-1 to reinforce 2-3. How you feeling, kid?"

"You want an actual answer, or the one that you want to hear?"  
>Came her sarcastic question, and without waiting for Cruz to reply, she answered.<p>

"I feel like shit, but the answer you want to hear is that I feel good."  
>She answered slyly, as she fell into step beside Winter.<p>

"I'm feeling good, Captain – but I'm worried about 2-3."  
>Came Winter's answer.<p>

"That's good because I'm sending you two in to catch up with Rhino 2-3. They're trying to get the Sulaco flight recorder, so we can see who caused this."  
>Cruz instructed the two of them, as they made their way through the hangar.<p>

"Sir, what happened in there?"  
>Winter asked the stopped in front of Reid's dropship.<p>

Kendall bit down on her lip as she resisted the urge to blurt out whatever had happened on the Sulaco. That time would come for later. Not right now.

"We shit the bed."  
>Came Cruz's answer, and Kendall cocked an eyebrow.<p>

**_That was a pretty bullshit answer._**

She was about to question him further, before he hopped onto the power loader that was behind him, as he addressed the Marines.

"Attention chicks and dicks of the USS Sephora. As of right his second, Rhino 2-1, and Rhino 2-3 are fighting to get a hold of the situation we're in. We don't leave Marines behind. Over the next two hours, we're going to send a series of Drop-ships over to aid with cas-evac on the USS Sulaco."

"Sir, the Sulaco was reported last seen over Fury 161. How is it back over this planet?"  
>Reid intercepted.<p>

**_That's because we were on our way back home when Ripley, Newt, Hicks, and Bishop were jettisoned out of the Sulaco.  
><em>**Kendall thought to herself.

"Lieutenant Reid, thanks for the interruption."  
>Cruz answered, sarcastically, before he continued.<p>

"We don't know how that boat got back here. Right now, we're worried about what's killin' our Marines in there. This is a liquid situation. Information to follow as it comes online. Ready up. Good huntin'. Oorah to ashes."

"Oorah!"

As the group dispersed, Kendall, and Winter followed Cruz onto the Drop-ship, and listened as he addressed them.

"Listen up. What I need right now is information. No heroics. No bullshit. I need you two to be my eyes in there. Report back anything you see, so I know what I'm up against."  
>Cruz barked orders, and the two Marines nodded.<p>

"Roger that. Tell Rhino 2-1, we're en route to their location."  
>Winter said, before Cruz turned to Kendall.<p>

"No bullshit from you, Hendrix."

"No promises, Cruz."  
>Came her witty remark, and Cruz just glared.<p>

"I gave you a straight up answer. You want a bullshit one? Yes sir."  
>Kendall remarked, smartly, and without saying another word, Cruz marched off.<p>

"Can't you go one day without pissing him off?"  
>Winter asked, as they sat down for the drop.<p>

"Where's the fun in that?"  
>Came her answer, as she checked the magazine to make sure that it was full, before they made their way onto the bridge.<p>

As they crossed through the umbilical, an explosion rocketed from the Sulaco, which violently shook the umbilical, and knocked Winter and Kenny off of their feet, and onto their backs. Her helmet came loose, and it fell down the umbilical, but at this point she didn't care. On the roof of the umbilical, a Marine fell from the Sulaco, and landed on the roof. A sickening crunch flowed afterwards, and blood pooled under the body.

"Oh God…"  
>She murmured under her breath, as the body slid off, and she pushed herself up off of the floor.<p>

"Winter…Hendrix, what the hell just happened in there? Raider 6-5, are you in the air yet?"  
>Cruz's voice echoed through her earpiece that miraculously managed to stay together in her ear.<p>

"—explosive decompression in the Sulaco—"  
>Came Winter's answer, and even though she had been in the military for a while, Kendall had no idea what the fuck he was talking about.<p>

"This is Raider -6-5, the umbilical is venting atmo into the black. Looks dicey, sir."  
>Came Reid's explanation.<p>

"No shit it looks dicey, Reid."  
>Kendall murmured, but she covered her microphone that came with her ear piece.<p>

"Dicey? Raider, I need grown-up words."  
>Came Cruz's complaint.<p>

_**Was this man ever satisfied with anything?**_

"You have twenty minutes before a total collapse. Shut it down."

Ever since she had joined this motley crew, Kendall had never once heard Reid sound so stern.

"Winter, Hendrix – you two heard the lady. Get to the other side, and we're shutting it down."

"We're continuing onto the Sulaco, sir. Hendrix out."  
>Kenny reported, as an almost inaudible sigh passed through her lips.<p>

This mission had gone to hell in less than ten minutes.

Keeping a calm, and steady pace, they made it through the doors, and just as the door from the umbilical to the Sulaco shut, an uneasy feeling rippled through Kenny's spine, but she uttered not a word. After a few moments of agonizing waiting, the outer door opened, and O'Neal's voice rattled through her earpiece.

"Sephora Actual, this is O'Neal. We've got causalities and several injured over here. I need a corpsman right away for the downed Marines from Rhino 2-1."

"Negative 2-1, that explosion jacked the airlock on our end. We cannot use the umbilical without risking more lives. Sit tight and stabilize our Marines."  
>A pause followed, before Cruz started up again.<br>"You seem to have more use to our Marines now, Hendrix. You're a Medical Officer as well, are you not, Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir, but that was a long time ago sir. I don't—"  
>Kendall started to explain, before Cruz cut her off.<p>

"Don't give me that bullshit Hendrix. Stabilize our Marines at any cost."

Kendall pinched the bridge of her nose, before she sighed.  
>"Yes sir."<p>

All of her training for her position on the Nostromo started to flood back into her mind, and she knelt on the opposite side of one of the wounded Marines, and when O'Neal started compressions on his chest, one of the fractures in his chest, spurted blood onto their faces. She recoiled slightly, as she started to sort through the Med-Kit that was attached to her hip for gauze to start dressing his wound.

"2-1, what is the status of 2-3?"

"Winter. Looks like he sent you and Hendrix over into this mess as well…Pull up your motion tracker, and tell us what you see."

"Got you three here – and I'm reading 2-3 to the South – beyond the hangar, engineering perhaps."  
>Came Winter's response, as Kendall felt the warm blood from the Marine drip down her cheek, and onto her chest armor.<p>

"They movin'?"  
>O'Neal asked, with hope that his fellow Marines would still be alive.<p>

"No. Wait. I got an unidentified signal – something's moving."

Hearing this, Kendall moved the dressing from the puncture wound, but O'Neal continued giving compressions, and more sticky blood splattered onto her face.

"Shit…"  
>She whispered, quietly, automatically thinking about the worse-case scenario.<p>

"Sephora Actual, it sounds like 2-3 are holding position."  
>O'Neal reported to Cruz.<p>

"Or they're down—"  
>Winter added, disdainfully, and Kendall scowled, as stood from beside the now dead Marine.<p>

"Great optimism you have, Winter. Really keeping the spirits up."  
>She mocked, with a roll of her eyes.<p>

"I gave you a straight up answer. You want a bullshit one? They're holding position."  
>Came the quick-witted remark.<p>

Kendall opened her mouth to speak, before she closed it.

"You're catching on, Winter."  
>She remarked, with a slight smirk.<p>

"We're reading unidentified movement in their area, they could be under attack."  
>O'Neal remarked, as he worked on one of the door panels.<p>

"Great…just great…"  
>Kendall murmured, as she hefted her pulse rifle.<p>

_**What else could possibly go wrong right now?**_

[[ Well, that was my first chapter for the Colonial Marines fan fic. Kendall-Rae Ripley is back, with an alias. Let me know what you think, whether I should continue or not. I am trying my best to make this game sound a bit more appealing than it actually was. No offense to any of you who liked it, but I preferred it over Alien3. Anyways, leave reviews! ]]


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